Boustany Talks VA Delays, Oil Well Control and Welfare (Audio)

Congressman Charles Boustany spoke with KPEL's Bernadette Lee and Brandon Comeaux this morning about several topics that may affect Acadiana and Louisiana as a whole.

First, Boustany said he has told Veterans' Affairs officials any significant delay in the construction of VA medical facilities in Louisiana is "completely unacceptable."

This week reports have surfaced that construction at a Lake Charles VA facility will be delayed, but Boustany said the delay is related to sewage easements that should be soon alleviated, despite the bureaucracy inherent in the VA system.

Next, Boustany touched upon a federal Well Control Rue that could potentially establish a de facto moratorium on oil recovery in the Gulf of Mexico.

The congressman said the rule would be a one-size-fits-all approach to oil and gas industry safety.

According to Boustany, the BSEE Well Control Rule would cost the nation $95 billion and would cause even more safety issues on oil platforms. the rule could potentially cost the industry 190,000 direct jobs.

He said this is another way that the current administration is waging a war on U.S. energy production.

Lastly, the congressman spoke about a tax credit program that is sending billions of dollars in wasteful welfare payments to fraudulent claimants.

Boustany told KPEL this IRS program has the highest fraud rate of all of the programs, but the IRS is not cooperating in trying to alleviate the fraud.